Simply knowing that a boutique such as Alife in New York is located at 158 Rivington St. is not enough to get you past their doors. Having the knowledge (or cultural capital) to read the proverbial writing on the wall gets those looking for brands such as Swagger, Crooks & Castles, Addict, Mararishi and Scum one step closer to the exclusivity and limited edition items they are hunting for.

Exploring the streets and deciphering the modern hieroglyphs that adorn them can help us unlock and tap into a consumer mindset that spends upwards of a billion dollars on fashion, technology and entertainment.

What was once completely underground is emerging and becoming more nuanced and transparent; it is our job to be more aware of graf art and translate its hidden messages. As it becomes more mainstream, more and more companies will be inspired to use graf art to engage consumers with their brands. So the next time you spot graf art as you're walking down the street, take a good look, you may actually be interacting with a real-time message board.